The present invention relates to a mop and more particularly to a novel battery powered wringer for a mop.
Mops are well known devices in the cleaning arts. Prior to the invention of the traditional and well-known mop, the cleaning person was required to be down on his or her hands and knees in order to clean a flooring surface. Since the invention of the traditional mop, the user is now able to stand while cleaning a floor.
It is without question that standing is preferred. Nevertheless, the user of the original mop had the particularly distasteful job of wringing out the mop head by hand. Therefore, over the years novel adaptations were made to improve the manner in which the user could wring fluid from the mop head.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,109,727 issued to Rogers in 1935 sets forth a novel means for extracting water from the mop head. Later, other patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,488 (Barry, 1980) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,287 (Johnson, 1985) further attempt to improve on the self-wringing mop. Although these various patents attempt to simplify the fluid extraction process, all of these patents share the same shortcoming . . . they require manual operation. Furthermore, they are difficult and messy to operate.
Other attempts at powered wringers for use with mops are found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,615,191 (Brown, 1952) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,513 (Gonzales, 1976). However, these patents require that the wringer be affixed to a bucket.
None of the inventions and patents describes the novel invention as claimed in this disclosure. It is obvious that a clear need exists for a mop with a battery-powered wringer. The invention of this disclosure provides an easy, efficient, simple, clean and cost-effective device to improve mop art. To this end, the teaching of this unique idea addresses a long-standing and unmet need.
It is the object of this invention to provide a mop that is electrically powered for the purpose of expelling water from a mop head. This novel invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.
This invention has several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by the claims which follow, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled xe2x80x9cDETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT,xe2x80x9d one will understand how the features of this invention provide its benefits and advantages.
More particularly, the invention provides an improved mop having a battery-powered wringer. Additionally, several other objectives and advantages of the present invention are as discussed in the following paragraphs.
The first feature of the invention is that it eliminates the need to manually extract fluid from a mop head.
The second feature of the invention eliminates the need for an externally located manual extraction means. This provides an added safety feature for the cleaning person, as the handle of the mop in this novel invention is essentially smooth.
The third feature of the invention replaces the external prior art manual extraction means with a simple switch.
The fourth feature of the invention is that the physical labor required for manual extraction is replaced by the action of a self-contained, electric or battery powered wringer. The invention is truly a labor saving device.
The fifth feature of the invention is that it avoids awkward wrist and body angles experienced with the prior art extraction means. This, too, provides an added safety feature for the user by eliminating common low back, wrist and hand injuries encountered with prior art mop wringers.
The sixth feature of the invention is that it reduces the proximity of the face of the user from the mop head. This is simply more sanitary and diminishes the users risk of exposure to bacteria and viruses.
The seventh feature of the invention is a reduction in fatigue since the manual operation of wringing the mop had has been replaced with a powered wringer. This might result in an increase in the stamina for the user.
The eight feature of the invention is that with less stress on the muscles of the hands, arms, back, neck and shoulders, cleaning people are more likely to relax during mopping sessions and avoid tightening or spasm of the muscles. The cleaning person can work for longer periods of time.
The ninth feature of the invention provides an electrically powered mop wringer without requiring the wringer to be affixed to a bucket.
The tenth feature of the invention is that it changes a difficult and unpleasant task into one that is more tolerable.
Because the operator is able to retract and project the mop head several times within a few seconds, the eleventh feature is that the invention provides a cleaner sponge or rag mop. The user can hold the head of the mop in a bucket of mopping fluid and operate the wringing mechanism several times within the bucket.
The twelfth feature of the invention provides the ability to automatically adjust the wetness of the sponge or rag mop based upon the number of times the operator elects to operate the wringing mechanism.
Furthermore, the disclosure which is the subject of this invention, will describe in detail this easy-to-use, efficient, simple, clean and cost-effective device to improve mop art devices and enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention.